Education in AI is critical to the success of the scientific and technological enterprise of AI. However, since the dawn of AI as a scientific discipline in the 1950s, education in AI has been limited to a small elite group consisting
mostly of graduate students in computer science at major
universities in advanced countries. The focus of AI education
in general has been on training small numbers of students for
research and teaching responsibilities in academe and
research and development positions in industry and government. Emphasis typically has been on cultivating depth of
understanding of AI concepts and methods and rigor in AI
methodologies of analysis, modeling, design, experiment,
and so on. The need for this kind of deep and rigorous education in AI will not only continue but also grow.

Nevertheless, several factors are converging to change fundamentally some aspects of AI education in the 21st century.